EMEA News
Emissions Monitoring Could Reduce Operator Costs by €9M
Advanced emissions monitoring could reduce costs for owners and operators of large ships by up to €9 million ($12.2 million) per year, according to the environmental group Transport and Environment (T&E).
The organisation has published a new study, which found that systems like fuel flow meters and continuous emissions monitoring, already in use by many major shippers, would significantly reduce operational costs.
"This study clearly shows that the best way to monitor shipping emissions is also the cheapest in the long run," said Aoife O'Leary, T&E's clean shipping officer.
T&E and other environmental groups have objected to the European Commission (EC)'s proposed rule on emissions monitoring, reporting, and verification, which would allow ship operators to choose from a number of monitoring options, including some based on existing data collection that do not provide new, actionable information.
"When GPS systems became available to massively improve the accuracy of ship navigation, no ship owner turned a blind eye to the technology just because of an upfront capital cost," O'Leary said.
"So, why should the Commission favour the use of inaccurate old-fashioned paper receipts when they could promote an accurate, real-time fuel monitoring system, enabling real emissions reductions?"
The report, conducted by CE Delft consultancy for T&E, found that modern systems can reduce fuel use and emissions by "a significantly greater extent" than a 2 percent drop in CO2 claimed by the EC.
It also suggests that the more sophisticated systems could reduced the cost of complying with other standards, such as the new International Maritime Organisation (IMO) limits on sulfur emissions coming into effect in 2015 in Emission Control Areas (ECAs).
"As the shipping industry pushes back against new laws to make shipping greener, this study shows that it makes perfect environmental and economic sense to use modern technologies and consolidate reporting requirements into one regulation," said John Maggs of Seas at Risk.
"We therefore call on the European Parliament to strengthen the proposal to ensure that all harmful pollutants can be more effectively controlled."
